What's up with the name you ask? well, there are so few tracks that begin with the letter Q that I just wanted to come up with one <font size=+2 face=Wingdings>J</font> so I settled on Quid Pro Quo, the term means a thing given as compensation...

Great tight racing, the bots give you a run, till the first couple turns anyway. It looks like a much prettier version the stock Scrapyard Run track, but the models and the textures are way better.

I especially like the large oval track on the outside of this original layout. I was just bee-bopping along, looking at the sites... then I saw it... off in the distance... "Is that a ramp?" I mashed the loud pedal, and flung my truck right at it. I was right, it was not only a ramp, but a HUGE ramp! Did an Evil Knievel style jump over about 8 [I think] City Busses. That was too cool! I was excited at what had just happened, and then... off in the distance... ANOTHER RAMP! lol I wrecked my truck on this one, becuz I tried to get fancy, and wiped out.

Oh well, so to me, there is fun inside AND outside of this track, I really dig it.

As so often, simple layout can turn out to be real fun. This one sure fit in there. It may be a no brainer but it's fun for sure. Some areas of the track are very wide witch allow for nice passing maneuvers but beware, other segments are narrow and you'll even find some small obstacles to make things more interesting. The layout is such that you can easily play with large group of racer and still have fun.

As usual, malibu did an outstanding job with the eye candies. The models are not only cool to look at. They are well positioned so that it may become an obstacle or simply deny cuting the corners. The walls and other obstacles are close to the track witch provide a nice feel of speed. In short, yet another outstanding track for all level of players to enjoy.

Thx again for all those great tracks bud. much appreciate at this end

------------------JumperOnly those who will risk going to far can possibly find out how far one can go.

Nice reviews by RepFan, Jump, and Wint – concise & to the point. Concise and to the point isn’t necessarily my style, but I appreciate those who can pull it off lol.

About three weeks ago SLOs Jumper, JDAK, SCATTER, HotShoe, and a few of the other guys suggested we erect some sort of Malibu350 shrine on our site. I opposed it (vehemently even lol), citing how he’s never ever put my picture in one of his $2.00 tracks, and that he still owes me money! They bucked, protesting my position with flimsy stuff about how he’s one of the best track makers in MTM history, highlighting the volunteer work and help he’s afforded to countless people, to include several of our team members, the really cool billboard he made for our team…random crap like that. My response was, “So. And?” LOL it’s too early to tell how this thing with the shrine is going to pan out, but what I can tell you is that Malibu350 is truly one heck of a guy–-all jokes aside (for now). He’s been around for quite a few years, and although he works most of his magic behind the scenes, where making tracks is concerned he’s definitely leads the pack, out front and center stage. If you find someone who disagrees with that assessment, have em call Jump, JDAK, SCAT or Shoe (e-mail me for their numbers…and be sure to call them collect lol); they’ll tell ya the exact same thing…and maybe a few other things since they’d be footing the bill for the collect call.

According to Mal, he came up with the name “Quid Pro Quo” (loose translation: you scratch my back, and I’ll scratch yours) because there aren’t many tracks that begin with the letter “Q”. I suppose you could look at that two ways: either he’s pretty observant and feeds off of being original/innovative…or maybe someone should be checking the dosage level on his medication lol. Even though the name “Quid Pro Quo” doesn’t quite mesh with the track’s atmosphere/theme, one thing’s for sure, it’s undeniably unique, stylish, and kinda classy. Ok maybe I shouldn’t use words like “stylish” & “classy” when referring to a track full of rusted out buses, trucks, old tires, stray dogs, and various pieces of other junk lol. Still, I definitely like the name.

If the track looks familiar to you at all it’s because it’s based on EVO 4X4’s “Salvation Wasteland”. As with all of Mal’s conversions with the exception of “Artic Wasteland” & and “Treasure Bay 2”, he either made a conscious decision to make slight changes to the track’s layout and elevation, or such changes were necessary in order to achieve maximum playability in MTM 2. Often times the decision & reasons overlapped, but either way the final product is always right on the money (old guy slang), and “Quid Pro Quo” is no exception. It’s a short triple figure 8-like circuit (about :57 on average) with several crossover sections. The word “crossover” should automatically prompt racers to think “crash…big crash” lol. Yesiree, if the pack gets spread out enough that’s exactly what’ll happen, which of course, adds an another level of fun and excitement. As I mentioned to in the previous paragraph, it’s set in a junkyard that’s relatively flat, but with subtle bumps and humps which require you to be more alert than you might initially think. I ran this track with a few buds of mine – OLD_LoL_Evil, scrooch_dog, and OLD_mumhra – pros, all very good racers. Given its simplistic layout of “Quid Pro Quo”, the learning curve required to effectively negotiate the course is almost nil, and as such, you’ll find that more often than not you’ll be in a dogfight with two to three other racers…at a minimum. The racing is not based on who is more skilled necessarily as much as it is who’s grittier, and more determined to fend off an all-out, hostile assault. It probably sounds like I’m talking about urban warfare or hand-to-hand combat. I’m not, of course, but it wouldn’t hurt to be skilled in those areas if you’re going to run this track lol. I’ll tell you what, there were more crashes and lead changes than you would think on a track with such a basic layout. The tires, barrels, and water puddles serve as perfect obstacles to those who fail to successfully navigate around them, slowing you up just enough to allow others to close in. Then again, if you’re already in last place, you’ve got serious problems lol. Put four to five racers on “Quid Pro Quo” and you’ve got instant, nonstop fun and excitement – guaranteed. If you’re looking to run a 10 or 15-lap session on this baby, you’d better have had 8 hours of sleep…and a bowl of Wheaties lol – it’ll wear you out! And hey, don’t forget about those crossovers I mentioned earlier; they tend to sneak up on ya lol.

I just don’t know about this Malibu350 guy. He’s either on one heck of a lucky streak or he really is a track making genius lol. I say that because to tell you the truth I wasn’t overly impressed with this one after my initial inspection, which consisted of taking 8 laps on it solo. But when you spend a little time taking in its visual appeal, as well as subtle differences between it and the EVO 4X4 version, and so many the other minute details, it’s hard not to love it. For example, the checkpoint poles are spaced much further apart in “Quid Pro Quo” than they are in “Salvation Wasteland”. Additionally, they’re set to no-collide, and adjusted so that sweeping a tire thru the pole will trigger them. And mind you, you <u>have to</u> ensure a tire or some portion of your vehicle breaks the plane established by the checkpoint poles or it won’t register. It’s that precise, that accurate and it’s indicative of unrivaled attention to detail, which is Mal’s forte. My point is those things were done to expand upon the race area, allowing for more freedom to improvise where necessary. Knowing when and where to make use of such characteristics (and others) is the key, and no one does it better than Mal in my opinion.

If you’ve never read any the previous reviews I did on Mal’s conversions, just so you know, the process is nowhere close to being as easy as it sounds – it’s not as simplistic as “copy and paste”. There’s TONS of work involved, and with Mal, he goes that extra mile to ensure every aspect of his tracks are just so. Here are a few words from the man himself taken from a recent interview. Actually it’s excerpts from an e-mail, but I thought “interview” sounded better lol. NOTE: I edited & condensed his information so that you get a sense of what it takes to produce a conversion. Mal tends to go on and on, so I cut quite a bit of his commentary out lol.

“…elevations were changed on all of them to one degree or another primarily because they would be undriveable or at the very least very not fun due to the physics differences between the games (EVO 4X$ & MTM 2), if the altitudes were made exact that is. Secondly, that's where I get the most enjoyment out of doing these conversions - tweaking the terrain to suit MTM. Far more time is spent molding the ground than anything else combined. If it takes me four weeks to do a track you can bet that at the very least three of those weeks were spent on the terrain.”

“The only two tracks I tried to get as close to the originals as possible were the first two - Arctic Wasteland and Treasure Bay. I took hundreds of screenshots from all angles of each section not only to get the terrain as close as MTM2 would allow, but also to get the model placement down as close as possible. That approach quickly got old and boring lol. I needed to get more creative, so I did, and do from all aspects except the actual course layout, although I've been tempted to alter that as well and I'm sure I will in the future. From one track to the next I gradually went free form, adlibbing here and there. Now I basically just dump all the EVO art and models into folders, then reassemble the track piece by piece my way without even looking at the EVO version unless there was something they did that I really liked. Even the models are sometimes altered to please MTM.”

Amazing stuff, it really is. If you haven’t guessed it by now, this one walked away with a Copey Rating of “10” out of 10 possible points – no questions asked. Yes, it’s a completely different kind of fun than you’ll experience on say, “Deadman’s Gulch²” or “Kodiak Island”, but I assure you, after one or two frantic romps around this bad boy you’re adrenaline will hit an all-time high. Definitely give this one a go with a few friends, then come back and tell us what you think – we’d love to hear from ya!

Mal, what more can I say – excellent track, man. Stunning detail, superb workmanship, ingenious improvisations, and all the extras—traits that are status quo where your tracks are concerned. Hey did ya like that? The “status quo” line, I mean. Kind of clever, huh? LOL we’ll see ya next time around, bud.

Yeah, I read that in his readme, too Jump. When you see him write stuff like that, refer to this line..."maybe someone should be checking the dosage level on his medication lol. Says it all lol.

You know, one other cool thing about this track I didn't mention (was worried about the length of the review lol) is how at times it feels as tho you're on two wheels when you get into a turn because of the road characteristics. It's pretty darn cool. I catch myself actually leaning the other way to try and counter the truck's momentum by shifting my weight lol. Crazy, I know, but I don't recall ever running a track that produced an effect like that...not on a consistent basis, anyway. Ok I'm gonna stop now before I start reviewing Mal's track again lol.

>>> Am i missing a cut? i cant get under 53 so far.there are no short cuts... the fastest lap I recorded was 51.73 but that was set while the road was still being developed, so it does not count, but just before release I was getting 54s & 55s, and so based on the facts, 1) I knew I was not getting clean laps and 2) no matter how fast a lap "I" ran on "any" previous track I've made someone always seems to knock 5 seconds off that lol... so I made the calculated assumption that high 40's were possible... I think I'll keep my mouth shut on any future prognostications lol

Normally i am not into rating tracks and posting comments about it but for this i have to make an exception.Cope asked me to help him make a review of this track wherefore he needed a few racers to see how they would behave on the new track.Normally with 4 ppl u have to do at least 5 racesessions on one track to get one 'realcool' race out of it where a lot of posistion changes happen, but with this track we got 3 out of 3 of those real cool ones, constant attached to bumper of the one in front u till he makes litle mistake, cope said its an easy track , no its NOT !! ,It might look easy, thats all. Very tricky sneaky hidden bumps and other obstacles assuring u not falling asleep while racing it.

Overall this track stands above ordinary tracks cause it looks like an 'original' track that comes with the game.

Just as ronald, i normally never do this. In fact, it's the very first time ever We (SLO_cope, OLD_lol_Evil and scrooch_dog) had 3 races on it, and they were all fantastic. It's just the kind of track that i love. Always bumper on bumper, exchanging some paint and trying to drive as clean al possible.It's not an easy track to pass, but that just gives an extra dimension to it. You kinda have to wait for the racer in front of you to make a little mistake (or you can always try to help him a bit in making a mistake , but try and keep it fair), so you can get next to him, and then it's side by side fighting for every corner. Reminds me a little of banging bars and sholders back in my motocross days.Well, i think this track is a must have for all you mtm2 racers out there, because fun races are guaranteed on it.Way to go Malibu...

It's a super great track Malibu, you've done a great job on it - it's pretty cool indeed to race this with a lot of racers. When you're trying to improve your lap times, you'll find this track interesting too. There are quite a few possibilities to take the corners júst a little faster. Thanks for adding extra value to the game again, you've got my compliments Malibu.

Edit - fixed his "thumbs up". Told him if he doesn't register, the next time it'll be $35.00 lol.

Great job Malibu,This is one of the Best scrapyard tracks out there and as always u have great details on your tracks and i need alot more practice on this track my fast time was 56:37 with the stock boogey van,also i love the stunt ramps they are just like on the game Stunt Man and again GREAT JOB on this track

------------------<IMG SRC="http://jarodsmtm.web1000.com/sigs/bull.jpg" border=0> ON A MISSION

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